Everything the Prime Minister does is aimed solely at keeping himself in power for as long as possible, he said.

He compared Mr Brown to a string of political figures who either failed to match the success of their predecessors or betrayed their principles to stay in office.

There was bad news for Labour today as they were shown to be slipping further behind in the polls.

Survey results released today show that support for the party has fallen to its lowest leve in any ICM survey since Tony Blair left office.

The poll was carried out last weekend gives the Conservatives a clear five-point lead over Labour.

It puts the Tory party on 40 per cent, up two points since the last Guardian/ICM poll which was carried out shortly before Brown announced there wouldn't be an autumn election.

Labour support now stands at 35 per cent, down three points.

The Lib Dems have scored a two-point climb to 18 per cent.

This week Tories will highlight what they say are Mr Brown's failings, to coincide with what would have been polling day tomorrow if the Prime Minister had not abandoned plans for a snap election. The Tory campaign intensified last night as the party released a mocking "Holloween" poster, to be displayed around the country, which shows a ghoulish Prime Minister under the slogan "all trick and no treat".

In a speech to the centre-Right think-tank the Bow Group, Mr Gove said: "Both the Prime Minister and his party are trapped by the decisions they made when they thought that holding on to power was more important than moving with the times."

The country, Mr Gove said, could see after just four months that the Brown Government is "doomed to disappoint".

He went on: "In our own century there have been a number of these leaders who have been fated, like film sequels, to have none of the success of the blockbuster which first brought lustre to their brand.

"Whether it's been Neville Chamberlain after Baldwin, Eden after Churchill or Bush senior after Reagan, the successor model has never quite recaptured the excitement of the first. They have been Roger Moores cast to replace the original Sean Connery - with the best will in the world the same quality isn't there."

He added: "The tragedy of Gordon Brown's premiership, however long it lasts, is that its remaining raison d'etre is its own longevity."

A Labour MP and union leaders warned Mr Brown he must make a break from the policies of Mr Blair.

A statement signed by deputy leadership candidate Jon Cruddas and union bosses says Mr Brown must "provide an intellectually and morally coherent vision for his premiership . . . as a matter of urgency".